I started a lobby today to test the "non-editor" version of Laser Tag we published, and a few strangers joined and were playing with me. First things first, hello.
 
Secondly, I realized multiplayer has a lot of work to go.

There was no notification of a player joining, when a player was tagged out, what the general flow was of the game. Things were chaotic. Players shooting at each other, running around aimlessly, getting shot by bots and disabled without even realizing what was happening. It seemed a little dark, even for a laser tag game. I clearly need lights on the walls. Spawns were generally clustered, all over the place. No spectator mode so you can join the lobby and get your bearings straight first, just right into whatever chaos was going on. Portals, grenades, flickering lights. I was taking everybody to the lobby and changing the map, and eventually the round begin timer broke. I couldn't even communicate to the players that testing was being done, because I forgot to integrate chat.

So, chat is here. Minimum.

I finally integrated a chat feature. Use Y or Enter to chat to your fellow players in game.

I will be working on polishing multiplayer for the gameplay/features I already have before adding anything new. This will involve:
  • All Chat (Done)
  • Tutorial screen before joining
  • Player joined/left notifications
  • All players must be ready before a match begins. 
  • Returning to lobby will display a message similar to "Host returning to lobby in 3..."
  • Spawns will be more spread out.
  • Spectator screen before joining the round
  • Joining a match in progress displays in game menu over the spectator screen
  • Better feedback for when a player has been tagged out
  • Better map lighting to improve visibility and general direction
  • Description of game mode upon joining
  • Improve general player flow

There will be more improvements but this should make the most impact for what I have built so far. Thanks for playing :)
people
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